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Museum of Earth and Mineral Sciences to get new home

Museum of Earth and Mineral Sciences to get new home

The Museum of Earth and Mineral Sciences located in Steidle Building on the University Park campus is moving to a new location. New galleries are being constructed on the ground floor of Deike Building that will afford the museum better display space and allow for interactive exhibits, according to Larry Achterberg, director of business and operations in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. The anticipated opening for the new galleries is early September.

In addition to minerals, the exhibit features historical documents and items from the University's early history. Evan Pugh was the first president of what was to become The Pennsylvania State University.

Daniel Danehy, a junior majoring in geosciences, is working this summer cataloguing all of the specimens, which will be entered into a computer database before the museum is moved to its new location. That includes many specimens stored in drawers beneath the display cases. Danehy is enthusiastic about his summer job. "Pretty much every drawer is like, wow, look at this," he said. "This is the coolest job I've ever had."

The museum features an extensive collection of paintings depicting mining and related industries. This is "Dredging the Monongahela," by Carl A. Wahlberg, an oil on canvas from 1935. It was donated by the artist in 1959.